(U.S.): After 23 years at Peninsula College, Maria Peña has been hired to build a relationship with local tribes, collaborate with local partners and institutions, and bolster diversity initiatives listed in the strategic plan.

(U.S.): Nearly two years after the university amended its admissions policies, its Class of 2018 welcomed seven students who have received the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status and are legally recognized U.S. residents. DACA status means that these students came to the U.S. as children and meet several other guidelines.

Launched in the summer of 2014, the committee's focus, comprised of faculty, staff and students, is to gradually change the culture of campus to be a more inclusive one and provide a diverse and engaging campus experience through education resources, professional development, and a study on the campus culture.

This month, the university released the Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program, a free professional development opportunity open to all staff and faculty and includes courses covering topics such as disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, and generational differences.

With the number of openly gay college presidents on the rise, the LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education will host a conference for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer academics who want to climb the college leadership ladder. The conference, LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education: Shaping Our Futures, will be held in June 2015.

(U.S.): The university, where only three percent of the undergraduate student body is Black, according to the latest Department of Education data, has established a new President’s Inclusion and Diversity Executive Council that will oversee all of the university’s diversity efforts.

The university is currently drafting a proposal that would require 85 percent of its student body to take a course on diversity issues, including race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and religion, in order to receive a degree.

After many changes throughout history, the university's fight song changed again to reflect a more gender-neutral tone, from "our coeds are the fairest” to “our students are the finest” and the line “no other gang of college men” will now be “no rival band of college fans."

"From racial and ethnic diversity to an influx of "first generation" students and the challenges of being a low-income student, most college and universities in this country have begun to recognize that the face of higher education is changing. The struggle, however, has been in how to accommodate or support these students." This New York Times article highlights Northwestern University's actions toward shifting its values to change its culture.

In an effort to address higher education affordability, the system's new board of trustees president recently announced a five percent tuition reduction for all state community colleges due to the restoration of money to the state's budget.

The recently signed bill will allocate an additional $100 million in state funding for Colorado’s colleges and universities to help offset several years of recession-driven cuts. As part of the legislation, Colorado’s universities and colleges agreed not to raise tuition by more than six percent a year.

A recent official announcement in Hindi, Korean, Spanish and English indicated Virginia residents who qualify for the federal government's "deferred action" program for immigrants without legal documentation can qualify for state financial aid.

(U.S.): The recently offered program is aimed at first-generation college students, older students, working adults, veterans and transfer students who are especially susceptible to the rising price of college.

With assistance from the university's Diversity Mini-Grant program, the Accessible Icon Project will repaint handicap parking spots on campus with an icon that represents independence and abilities of individuals who use wheelchairs.

The two bills, recently signed into law by the governor, are intended to help low-income students attain a higher education credential. One bill asks for a study on the feasibility of providing free community college classes to Oregon high school graduates. The other sets aside $750,000 for low-income families.

A recent university program, Aztec Scholars, reaches out to potential African American and American Indian students offering them a community of support to help them through their college career and successful graduation.

(U.S.): On behalf of a month dedicated to honoring diversity, the Office of Multicultural Involvement and Community organized the open mic night to give students a creative platform to share about their identity in hopes of transcending stereotypes.

(United States): Answering President Obama’s call to increase college opportunity for disadvantaged students, the California State University is partnering with more than 100 African American churches to speak to youth and their families about the value of a college degree and access to financial aid.

(United States): The new policy, which was developed in support of the university’s Principles of an Equitable Community, prohibits any Greek organization from sponsoring or endorsing an event or program that discriminates against anyone “based on color, disability, gender identification, genetic information, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economics, veteran status, or any differences that have been excuses for misunderstanding, dissension or hatred.”

(United States): As a result of on-campus racist incidents since 2012, Diversity and Inequality at Northwestern University focuses on how issues can impact the university's present state, it will compare these issues to other universities, and it will examine these issues historically. The university is currently contemplating a social inequality and diversity requirement for all students.

(United States): In a recent presentation to the state's House Higher Education Committee, the university's Student Debt Reduction Working Group discussed findings of roughly 50 percent of students graduate with debt and the average amount is over $21,000. The presentation is part of an effort to increase the dialogue on college affordability between students and lawmakers.

The university's Central Student Government listened to and adopted a recent resolution that addresses minority student enrollment, the creation of a scholarship for undocumented students, and official student government support of student activism directed toward increased diversity on campus.

The university recently adopted a new guideline specifying that all new and renovated buildings will include a single-stall, gender neutral bathroom in an effort to develop a more transgender-friendly campus.

With 'race' as the university's 2013-14 theme, the two-day conference, organized by the Multicultural Resource Center, provided a safe and structured environment to explore issues related to social justice.

The newly released proposition from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities proposes using existing federal resources to create a new federal matching grant program that leverages federal funds to incentivize states to boost operating support for public higher education, in turn mitigating tuition price increases and improving college affordability.

In an effort to measure diversity in higher education, the recently published paper discusses the researchers method to create the final instrument, ACES, which quantifies Attitude towards diversity, Career activities and professional norms, Environment conducive to diversity, and Social interactions with diverse groups.

Called One State, One Rate, the new initiative officially supported by students and faculty, aims to give in-state tuition to students without documentation who received a high school diploma or GED from within North Carolina.

The North Carolina LGBTQ College Consortium aims to foster communication and build community among the state’s various lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer college student organizations with annual meetings and a conference, periodic conference calls, webinars and leadership development events.

(U.S.): In an effort to meet the demand for the college's growing green degrees programs, the college is offering credit to students of an introductory sustainability course at a local technical school.

(Australia): According to a recent analysis, the governing bodies of the country's universities have an average of 43 percent female representation with four universities carrying 50 percent or more women on councils.

(South Africa): In an effort to spur progress toward an academe that reflects South Africa's ethnic mix, the University of KwaZulu-Natal has developed and introduced an "equity index" that tracks how closely student, staff, senate and governing council bodies reflect the country’s ethnic and gender make-up. Controversially, the data allow institutions to be ranked by how similar they are to the South African population as a whole.

President Obama has directed the U.S. Department of Education to develop and publish a new college ratings system that would be available for students and families before the 2015-16 school year. The ratings system will help students compare the value offered by colleges and encourage colleges to improve. As part of an effort to gather public input about the development of the system, the Education Department has the last of four open forums on Nov. 21 at Louisiana State University. Transcripts of the forums are available. To submit input, email [email protected]

Spurred by the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case, the Interactive Conference on Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Understanding brought the campus community together in a moderated discussion around issues facing minorities and how to find harmony among diverse groups.

Excelencia in Education recently recognized Cañada College, University of Texas at Brownville, Pan American and Austin, Esparanza College of Eastern University, Rio Hondo College, Del Mar College, Bluegrass Community and Technical College and Grayson College for their efforts in helping Latino students to succeed academically.

The first full-time elder, Geraldine Manson, will provide support and guidance to aboriginal and non-aboriginal students and share traditional practices and knowledge within the curriculum of the Faculty of Health and Human Services.

After faculty members attended a diversity conference, the university's Latino Student Alliance group hosted the inaugural Unity Conference and Celebration that focused on celebrating the differences within its diverse student body.

The new plan to be rolled out in fall of 2014, AdrianPlus, is a loan repayment assistance initiative that offers to pay all or part of its students' loans if they are unable to secure a well paying job post graduation.

A decades-long debate ended this semester when the university song was changed from "My father sent me to old Rutgers/ And resolv'd that I should be a man” to "From far and near we came to Rutgers/ And resolved to learn all that we can." This change more accurately reflects the 65,000-student college where nearly half are female.

Inaugurated this fall, students of the college are given the freedom to choose their roommates independent of gender, sex, sexual identity or sexual orientation. "Open housing" was employed to respond to the needs of students who do not identify with traditional gender norms, and to provide options for all students who feel that they would have a more positive shared-living experience with a roommate of the opposite sex or gender.

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The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education is a membership association of colleges & universities, businesses, and nonprofits who are working together to lead the sustainability transformation. Learn more about AASHE's mission.